In general, self-propelled row crop sprayers, referred to herein as crop sprayers, are a type of agricultural vehicle used to distribute chemicals, such as herbicides, pesticides, and fertilizer, over rows of crops in a field. The various systems and components of the crop sprayer, such as a cab, engine, fluid storage tanks, pumping systems, and boom spraying systems are mounted on top of a longitudinal main frame. The main frame in turn is supported a predetermined distance above the ground by wheels to provide sufficient ground clearance for the crop sprayer to pass over crops, such as corn and soybeans, during spraying.
Crop sprayers include a cooling system for cooling the fluids and gases required by the various systems of the crop sprayer. The cooling system includes a separate cooler for each of the systems that require cooling. For example, a crop sprayer may include a charge air cooler for cooling intake air, a transmission fluid cooler, a hydraulic fluid cooler, and an engine fluid cooler (e.g., radiator). The coolers are typically mounted in the engine compartment of the crop sprayer and operate by having air blown or drawn through them by a fan to cool the respective fluid or gas.
Various factors must be taken into consideration in the design and arrangement of the cooling system of a crop sprayer. For example, each cooler must be of sufficient size and receive a sufficient amount of clean air to provide adequately cooling. Finding ways to arrange the coolers in the engine compartment in a manner that allows each cooler to be supplied with sufficient clean air is an ongoing concern. In addition, the arrangement of the coolers in the engine compartment may have an impact on the size and dimensions of the engine compartment and the hood assembly. Increasing the dimensions of the engine compartment and/or hood assembly, particularly the height or width, to accommodate a cooling arrangement may adversely impact the field of vision of an operator of the crop sprayer.
Accordingly, there is a need for a cooling system for a crop sprayer that enables all of the coolers of the cooling system to be arranged in the engine compartment to receive an adequate supply of air for cooling without significantly altering or impacting the size and/or dimensions of the hood assembly.